Migrant Workers to Malaysia

Staff Correspondent

The departure of Bangladeshi workers for plantation jobs in Malaysia might be delayed as the visa processing has not been completed, BMET Director General Begum Shamsun Nahar told The Daily Star yesterday.
“We have sent the necessary documents of 6,000 workers asking for visas. But the Malaysian authorities did not respond yet on the issue as the employers are taking time completing the processing,” she said.
The Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) is scheduled to send the first flight of workers on March 27, she said.
On a possible levy on the workers, Shamsun Nahar said she was not sure about it as no discussion was held between the BMET and the employers.
The Malaysian government, following demands by migrant workers to increase wages, announced to impose a levy on the workers, reported The Star, a Malaysian English daily, last month.
The workers’ migration cost was fixed at Tk 40,000 each and the minimum salary is Tk 25,000 each. The workers will have free residential facilities but have to buy their own food, states the BMET.
A total of 10,000 workers, as per the December 30, 2012 formal request of the Malaysian government, have been selected and prepared for the jobs through an online registration system, medical checkups and training.